Heart and Soul
by Elise Lowing
Summary: Toothless the Night Fury is still haunted by the events that happened at the Dragon Sanctuary. And a nightmare of hurting Hiccup doesn't make it any better. Luckily, Cloudjumper is able of offer some words of wisdom and begins to heal the Alpha Dragon's suffering heart.


**Heart and Soul**

**WARNING: The following one chapter story contains Spoilers from "How to Train Your Dragon 2". If you have not seen the movie and don't want anything given away, then I suggest you wait to read this until you have.**

**You have been warned**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own "How to Train Your Dragon", I am merely exploring a possible story.**

**With that said, let's begin!**

* * *

><p>"<em>Toothless, NO! TOOTHLESS! DON'T!"<em>

_NO! NOT AGAIN!_

_Toothless was powerless against the control of the Alpha dragon. His body refused to obey him and continued to stalk toward the young Viking. His vision was just a huge blur, as if it was all a dream. Hiccup's voice seemed to be coming from a long way off. He sounded frightened._

_Toothless tried to fight back the Alpha's control, but his mind was not his own anymore. He had no choice but to obey. And this time it was worse. Unlike last time when things were almost blank, Toothless was fully aware of what was going on. And there was nothing he could do to stop himself._

"_**KILL HIM!"**__ the Alpha's voice boomed in the Night Fury's head. __**"KILL THE ONE WHO DOWNED YOU! DESTROY HIM! GET VENGENCE ON THE ONE WHO TOOK YOUR FREEDOM OF FLIGHT!"**_

"_**NO!"**__ Toothless shouted back. __**"STOP IT! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"**_

"_**KILL HIM! KILL HIM NOW!"**_

"_**NO! HICCUP, GET AWAY FROM ME! RUN!"**_

_But it was useless. The Night Fury's pleas just came out as snarls and roars to the young Viking._

_Toothless started to feel his heart grow heavy. He knew what was coming. Stoick would appear out of nowhere and push Hiccup aside, causing Toothless to kill the chief of Berk instead._

"_STOP!" Hiccup's terrified voice desperately shouted._

_Toothless felt himself ready a plasma blast in the back of his throat. He heard Hiccup back up against the icy wall. Any moment now, Stoick would appear. Any moment, Toothless would relive that same horrible event. He could already feel the guilt growing inside his gut._

_But Stoick didn't come._

_Still under the Alpha's control, Toothless released his attack, and it hit its target!_

_At that instant, everything started to go black around Toothless. His vision became clear as the Alpha released him from his control. The Night Fury shook his head and panted heavily. He then looked up and what he saw made him feel as if his spirit had left his body. It was something he never wanted to see._

_On the ground, with a huge burn scorching at his midsection, was Hiccup, absolutely lifeless!_

"_Hiccup?" Toothless whispered before raising his voice. "HICCUP!"_

_The Night Fury raced over to his rider and quickly inspected him. Fear and horror began to tighten its grip on him when he saw that Hiccup showed no signs of life. He remained unmoving, he wasn't breathing, and his abdomen was horribly damaged._

_Toothless lowered his head toward Hiccup's chest and listened intently for a heartbeat. But there wasn't one, not even a very faint one._

_His little heart had stopped!_

"_No…"_

_Toothless trembled in absolute shock._

"_**Don't you see?"**__ the Alpha's voice said from the shadows. __**"It was you who killed this boy's father! And now, you've killed him!"**_

"_No…" Toothless could barely speak._

"_**The boy and his father are dead! BECAUSE OF YOU!"**_

"_No…!"_

_Toothless eyes widened with horror and he staggered for a moment. His limbs finally gave out and he collapsed to the ground, letting out a heart-wrenching roar into the blackness._

* * *

><p>Toothless jerked awake and practically stood up on his sleeping place. He breathed heavily and looked around. He was back in Hiccup's house on Berk.<p>

It was all a dream? But…it felt so real.

"Toothless?"

The sound of a familiar voice caused Toothless to jump and turn in the direction it came from. Apparently, the dragon's sudden actions caused Hiccup to wake up as well. The young man sat up in his bed and looked at his Night Fury friend with a dazed expression.

"You okay, bud?"

For reasons that even he couldn't understand, Toothless fearfully backed away from his rider. He whimpered as he made his way towards the stairs.

"Toothless, what's the matter?" Hiccup asked when he saw the dragon's skittish behavior.

The new chief of Berk slowly got out of his bed and began to walk over to his dragon. However, this only made Toothless back away even more. For some reason, Hiccup coming closer scared him.

Toothless cowered away from Hiccup before when he was sick with Eel Pox, but this was different. He wasn't sick and couldn't control his actions, but an overwhelming sensation of fear came over him.

It was then that the image of Hiccup burned and dead flashed in his mind. He backed away even more.

"Toothless, calm down!" Hiccup said soothingly. "It's okay!"

The Night Fury couldn't take it anymore. He winced and darted down the stairs. He could hear Hiccup call for him in a worried voice, but he didn't stop. He bolted out of the front door and raced off toward the woods as fast as his legs could carry him.

He just had to get away!

* * *

><p>From outside of the house, Cloudjumper heard the commotion and watched as Toothless raced by him toward the forest. The look on his face was one of fear and desperation.<p>

"TOOTHLESS!" Hiccup cried as he bolted out of the house.

"Hiccup!" Valka's voice shouted. "What's going on?!"

Cloudjumper watched as his rider quickly emerged from the house and ran over to her son.

"I-I don't know!" Hiccup said. "I think Toothless was having a nightmare or something! I tried to calm him down but he just ran off!"

Cloudjumper looked back in the direction where he saw Toothless go and his eyes narrowed. Normally, the Stormcutter dragon wouldn't even consider going anywhere without his faithful human companion, but he sensed that this time would have to be an exception. Toothless obviously ran away for a reason, and Cloudjumper had a pretty good idea of what it was.

Although he heard Valka call out for him to come back, Cloudjumper lifted off the ground and flew off over the forest.

* * *

><p>A few minutes later, Cloudjumper found Toothless. He was laying down by himself down in a small cove with a crystal clear lake in the middle. When the Stormcutter landed, Toothless jumped up and turned around. His face went from alert to a little more calm when he saw Cloudjumper. The said dragon bowed out of respect to the Alpha dragon.<p>

"Please, Cloudjumper," the Night Fury groaned. "Don't bow to me."

"Toothless," the crimson dragon raised his head, "is there something you want to talk about?"

Toothless looked at Cloudjumper with a distressed look. He then glanced away and stared at his reflection in the water.

"I…" the Night Fury took a deep breath. "I had a dream."

The Stormcutter dragon walked a little closer to the young Alpha dragon.

"Drago's Bewilderbeast took control of me again." Toothless slowly continued. "He turned me against Hiccup again. I…I tried to fight him but…and Stoick didn't…I…Hiccup…I…"

The Night Fury grimaced, unable to bring himself to say that horrific crime. But Cloudjumper didn't need Toothless to say what happened. He already knew the moment the Night Fury's voice failed him.

"And the Bewilderbeast said…it was my fault!" Toothless managed to finish his story.

"Toothless, what happened wasn't…"

"Don't say it!" Toothless suddenly turned almost savagely toward Cloudjumper, his voice breaking with sorrow. "Don't say it wasn't my fault! Everyone says that! But it's not true! I should've been stronger when I had to be! I should've resisted! But I didn't! And it wasn't because I was protecting Hiccup like it was five summers ago! I ATTACKED Hiccup! It was MY shot that nearly killed him! It was MY shot that killed Stoick! I'm a murderer, Cloudjumper! A MURDERER!"

Out of anger and unbearable pain, Toothless splashed the water with his paw, distorting his reflection. He then made rasping gasps, like a human would if it was crying. No tears came for the Night Fury's eyes, but Toothless felt as if there were stream of them falling down his face. Although he was ashamed of letting someone see him like this, he was at least grateful that it was only Cloudjumper who was here to witness it.

"Some Alpha Dragon I am!" Toothless bitterly moaned.

Cloudjumper stared at Toothless with a very sympathetic look. As strong as this Night Fury was, he knew that even this would bring him down. Although seven suns had passed since that battle at the dragon sanctuary, Toothless still carried the scars from what happened there.

The Stormcutter dragon then let out a huge sigh and lifted his face toward the starlit sky.

"Toothless," he finally said, "I'm going to tell you something that the Alpha Dragon of the sanctuary told me once. He said, "It's not the teeth or claws that are the killers, it is those who decide to use them for evil.""

The Night Fury turned to look at Cloudjumper.

"What's that suppose to mean?" he asked, frowning.

"Weapons and tools cannot do harm unless the one who wields them decides to use them for evil purposes." Cloudjumper explained. "When you were under the control of Drago's Bewilderbeast, you were nothing more than a tool. The Bewilderbeast was the one who used you for his evil doing, you didn't do it yourself."

"Then how come I could break away from his control AFTER he and Drago attacked Berk and not sooner?" Toothless said sourly.

"Because you and your rider were not prepared for what was coming," the Stormcutter simply said. "But even then, that Bewilderbeast couldn't control your heart, because your heart exists in two places."

Toothless blinked at that statement. What did Cloudjumper mean by that?

"The heart that belongs to you exists within you." Cloudjumper continued. "And even there, the Bewilderbeast could never touch it. He may have controlled your mind, but he couldn't reach your heart. Yet, your rider was able to reach you. Because he is a reflection your heart and soul."

"What?"

"Hiccup is a reflection of your heart and soul," the Stormcutter repeated. "And you are a reflection of his. It's the same with Valka and me. I knew it the very moment I saw her. You and Hiccup are no different. You both are reflections of each other's heart and soul. That is why his voice was able to reach you. Nothing could break the bond that you two share. And nothing ever will."

"Why are you so sure about that?" Toothless asked, bewildered.

Cloudjumper turned to Toothless and looked at him with a warm smile. He then lowered his head to the Night Fury's level and said:

"Because you have the heart of an Alpha and the soul of a Viking. Nothing will ever tear you and Hiccup apart, for you are forever brothers. And together you are one."

The moment Cloudjumper said those words, Toothless became absolutely speechless. It was very thing that he needed to hear. In almost an instant, he felt as if a huge weight he had been carrying for a long time had been lifted from his shoulders and carried away.

Cloudjumper was absolutely right and Toothless knew it. He and Hiccup were brothers. Not by blood, but by the bond that they shared; the bond that has withstood many trials, even the most hopeless ones.

Finally, the Night Fury nodded and looked up at the Stormcutter.

"Thank you, Cloudjumper." He said sincerely.

Cloudjumper simply replied with a warm smile and a small nod.

"TOOTHLESS!" Hiccup's voice called in the distance.

"CLOUDJUMPER!" Valka's voice shortly followed.

"They're looking for us," the crimson dragon said.

"I can hear that." Toothless replied. "But I can't exactly get out of here on my own."

"That's why I'm here, c'mon."

With Cloudjumper's help, Toothless left the cove and the two of them immediately headed in the direction of where the voices of their riders were coming from.

The moment Hiccup saw his dragon; he darted over to him with no hesitation. Toothless also sprinted toward his rider and practically tackled him to the ground. The Night Fury proceeded to nuzzle the young Viking while the human stroked the dragon's head. Toothless then pressed his nose against Hiccup's chest, feeling the small but strong heart beat within the Viking.

This wasn't the nightmare from before. Hiccup was alive and unharmed.

"You really gave me a scare, Toothless," the Viking said. "You sure you're okay?"

Toothless simply replied with a warm purr and nudged Hiccup's face.

"That must have been some nightmare you were having." Hiccup said. "Well, it's over now. I'm right here for you."

"_And I'm right here for you."_ Toothless gratefully thought.

Hiccup then wrapped his arms around Toothless' neck and the two friends shared a heartfelt embrace. The Night Fury then smiled and looked over to Cloudjumper and Valka, who were sharing a reunion of their own. The Stromcutter simply glanced over at Toothless and smiled, as if to say that what he had said to the Night Fury before was proven in this instance.

Although he didn't say it out loud, Toothless gratefully said to himself:

"_Thanks, Cloudjumper."_


End file.
